Safety cut-out



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. S. SHAPLEIGH.

SAFETY OUT-OUT. No. 433,187. Patented Ju1y 29, 1890 FIG-1. 3 FIG.

FIG. 0. FIG. 6.

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M. S. SHAPLEIGH. SAFETY'OUT-OUT.

No. 433,187. Patented July 29. 1890.

' INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARSHALL S. SIIAPLEIGII, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY CUT-OUT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,187, dated July 29, 1890.

Application filed December 17, 1889. Serial No. 334,138, (No model.)

.To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARSHALL S. SHAP- LEIGH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Cut-Outs for Electrical Circuits, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to that class of cut-outs in which the circuit is broken by the melting of a piece of fusible metal placed in the line, and has for its object the shortening of the time required to remove the metal when burned out and to replace it with a new conductor, and also to render the insertion of conductors suificiently easy for any person, however unskilled, without danger of breaking or injuring the fusible conductor, as is frequently done in screwing up the bindingscrews now universally used.

The nature of my invention is fully explained in the following description and accompanying drawings, in'which Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of myiinproved cutout device, the cover, fuse, and spring clamping contacts being removed. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same on line as at, Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and I are respectively front and side views of a set of spring clamping contacts and fuses. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the cover, partly in section, showing the-spring clamping contacts and fuses. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cover. Fig. 7 is a view of a fuse. Figs. 9 and 11 are perspective views of modifications. Figs. 8, 10, and 12 are views of modifications, the one illustrated in Fig. 10 being the duplicate of that shown in perspective in Fig. 9 of my cut-out device. Fig. 13 shows a protector that may be used to secure the fusible metal of the fuse from the spark in certain cases.

The same letters designate the same parts throughout the specification.

I make an insulating-block A of some nonconducting material, on which I place the contactrpieces D D, which are electrically connected to the main-line wires B B, which preferably run at the sides of the insulatingblock A, the connection being made by the clamps G and G and the binding-screws F F. Opposite to these contact-pieces are the contact-pieces E and E, to which the local cirbinding-screws 1.1 and the posts H H, or in any other convenient manner. Each of these contact-pieces D E D E is provided with opposite sides, lateral supports, compressing the jaws of the spring-clamps upon the fuse to receive the spring clamping contacts R R, describedhereinafter.

To a piece of non-conducting material J, I attach two spring-clamps R R, which I place as far from each other as are the apertures 1 2. Into the spring-contacts I place the fuse L, Which may be of any form now upon the market or otherwise shaped so as to be adapted to my apparatus. This piece J, to which the spring-contacts are attached, may be attached to or form part ofa cover M. (See Figs. 5 and 6.)

To make the circuit through the cut-out, I press into the corresponding apertures 1 and 2 of each pair of contact-pieces D. and E, D and E, a pair of the spring-clampsR R, holding between them' the fuse L, (see Fig. 3,) which,by the pressing of the sides of the springcontact R R together by the act of inserting them in the apertures 1 and 2, is held closely into contact therewith and a good connection insured, and at the same time the outsides of the spring-contacts press against the sides of the apertures 1 and 2, making a good connection between them and the contactpieces E D E D. )Vhen the spring contactclamps are fastened to the inside of the top of the cover, (as shown in Figs. 5 and 6,) they will be inserted into the contact-pieces by placing the cover on the block A. This cover M, I usually make to cover the whole of the cut-out device and shield it from any accidental injury, but its particular shape is not to be taken as a limitation on my invention. When a fusible conductor is burned out, the spring contact-clamps are removed and the pieces which remain of the fuse L removed. A fresh conductor is then placed in the jaws of the clamps and they are placed in position. The whole operation takes less than a minute, which is an important matter, since the breaking of the circuit causes a cessation of light throughout the length of the local circuit and its branches.

cuit-wires O C are attached by means of the apertures 1 2 1 2, forming, with two of their My device may be used either as a branch circuit or a main-line or single-pole cut-out. WVh'en used as a m ain-line cut-out, the current would be carried to the contact D, and continued from the contact E, the returning current passing through the contact E and D. It can also be used as a single as well as a double cut-out, in which case a single pair of contact-pieces and contacts and a single fusible conductor need only be used, the other current being carried on a continuous conductor. Instead of apertures formed in the contact-pieces as described, raised pieces (see Fig. 8) may be placed thereon, forming supports, between which the jaws of the springclamps may be compressed, or any other support pressing the jaws of the clamps upon the fuse, which would occur to a skilled workman, may be employed,.some varieties being shown in Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive. If desired, the spring-contact may be formed in the man- -ner shown in Figs. 11 and 10, the contactpiece having a lateral support, beneath which is placed the spring-clamp R, and between which and the contact D is placed the fuse L. To a piece of non-conducting material J, I attach two of these spring contact-clamps R R, which I place as far apart as are the supports 1 2.

Upon the contacts or terminals 1) E, I place the fuse L, extending from one terminal to the other, and insert the spring-clamps R R beneath the supports 1 2, and thus cause the jaws of the clamps to be pressed by the action of the supports down upon the fuse L. Around this fusible conductor I have shown a wrap ping S of a less fusible metal, which I preferably place around it to take the spark which will ordinarily pass while placing the conductor in the circuit, so that there is no danger of the metals fusing at the ends when being inserted in the cut-out. I have shown this wrapping in Fig. 13 as removed from the conductor.

Fig. 9 shows the contact D having a single upright support, which presses the jaws of the spring-clamps R R upon the fuse L, placed between the support and the jaws. To a piece of non-conducting material J, I attach two spring contact-clamps R R, which I place as far apart from each other as are the supports 1 2 1 2. Upon these supports are preferably hungprotectorsS S,which consist of a strip of protecting material that covers both sides of the fuse and also performs the office of supporting it. This protector may, however, be of different form, or where a low-pressure current only is employed may be dispensed with. Over the fuse as it is placed against the support 1 2, I press the springclamps R R upon the supports 1 2. The jaws of the clamps are then, by the action of the supports, pressed closely down upon the fuse L. I do not, however, desire to limit myself to the use of either a fuse having the ends of a less fusible alloy than the center or inclosed in a protector, as such is not necessaryto my invention. Such constructions are convenient for use in certain cases-as, for instance, where the cut-out is used in high-pressure circuits, or where it is desired that it be very sensitive.

Fig. 12 shows the spring contact-clamp composed of two arms R, which may consist of two pieces or of a single piece, and may be attached to a non-conducting piece .I, made as in the above varieties. These arms may be pressed against the fuse, and are shaped so as to allow it to be placed between them before they are inserted between the lateral supports, which may be formed by the edges of the aperture Z in the contact D or by projecting in the same manner as in Fig. 8.

While I have described many varieties of my invention, I do not limit myself to a cutout having only the mechanical construction shown and described herein, as great Variations may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination of a pair of springelamps, a fuse placed between the jaws of said clamps and automatically clamped thereby, and terminals provided with lateral supports operating to compress the jaws of said clamps externally, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a pair of spring clamps insulated from each other except through the fuse, terminals placed on a suitable insulating-biock and provided with lateral supports, between which the jaws of said clamps pass and are compressed externally, and a fuse automatically held by and between the jaws of said clamps, substantially as described.

3. The combination of an insulating-block having terminals thereon forming lateral supports, between which the jaws of a pair of spring-clamps held firmly at a distance from each other are placed and compressed externally, and a fuse automatically held by and between said jaws, substantially as described.

4:. The combination of a pair of spring contact'clamps made of an elastic conducting material and provided with jaws, by and between which the fuse is placed and automatically clamped, with a pair of terminals placed on a suitable insulating-block and provided with lateral supports operating to compress the jaws of the clamping-contacts externally, substantially as described.

5. The combination of an insulating-block having thereon the terminals of a main and a branch circuit with two pairs of springclamps, a fuse extending from one spring contact-clamp to another, and automatically held by and between the jaws of said clamp, substantially as described.

6. The combination of an insulating-block, terminals placed thereon and forming lateral supports, between which the jaws of said clamps are placed, and a fuse automatically held by and between the jaws of said clamps, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a block provided with two terminals, supports of conducting material electrically connected to said terminals and in permanent mechanical connection therewith, a pair of spring-clamps provided with jaws connected by an insulating-piece, and a fuse, the whole being arranged so that the jaws are pressed upon the fuse automatically and complete the circuit between the terminals.

8. The combination, in an electrical cut-out, of a block having two spring contact-clamps connected together by a piece of insulating 

